Man arrested after officer killed in chase

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A Hodgenville, Ky. police officer died early Sunday when he lost control of his cruiser during a car chase, police said.

Kentucky State Police spokesman Norman Chaffins said the pursuit began when Officer Mark Taulbee spotted the vehicle of a man wanted in an alleged domestic dispute, according to The Courier-Journal.

The driver of the vehicle then led Taulbee on a chase and the officer lost control of his car, hit an embankment, and was ejected from the vehicle. He was transported to the University Hospital in Louisville where he died from his injuries. Investigators said Taulbee was wearing a seatbelt.

Police said the driver of the other car, 29-year-old Jason L. Avis of Hodgenville, continued driving following the accident, but later turned himself in at the LaRue County Jail. A jail official told The Associated Press that Avis has an attorney, but the name wasn't known.

He has been charged with first-degree wanton endangerment and evading police. Additional charges are expected.

Taulbee had been with the Hodgenville Police Department a little over a year.